(1). 1:How can this inform effective communication over covid-19?
2:It may be tempting for governments to stress the negative: “If you go out you may get sick.”
3:No one wants a bad thing—but neither do they want to be stuck at home with no food, toilet paper or fun.
4:Faced with two bad options—one certain (no fun), the other (becoming ill) worse but only hypothetical—many people will take the risk.
5:They might be pushed in the opposite direction by stressing the good thing they have in hand: “Stay safe” rather than “Stop coronavirus spreading”.
6:Most countries seem to be using both tactics.
1:这如何影响covid-19的有效沟通?
2:对政府来说,强调负面消息可能很有诱惑力:“如果出门,可能会得病。”
3:没有人想要糟糕的事情——但他们也不想被困在家里,没有食物,没有卫生纸,没有娱乐活动。
4:面对两种糟糕的选择——一种是肯定的(没有乐趣),另一种(变得更糟),但只是假设的——许多人会冒这个险。
5:他们可能会被推向相反的方向,强调可控的益处:“保持安全”而不是“阻止冠状病毒传播”。
6:大多数国家似乎都在使用这两种策略。
(2). 1:Another research finding, tested in the real world, uses social psychology.
2:Britain’s tax office added a single line to reminder notices telling overdue filers that most people pay their taxes on time, and that the recipient was one of the few who had not.
3:That raised prompt filings by five percentage points.
4:This kind of social shame might work for the virus, too.
1:另一项研究发现是在现实世界中使用社会心理学测试的。
2:英国税务办公室在提醒申报人的通知上加了一行,提醒大多数人都按时交税,而收税人是少数没有按时交税的人之一。
3:这使即时申报增加了5个百分点。
4:这种社会羞耻感可能对病毒也有作用。
(3). 1:But good framing is not enough.
2:Leaders must also be clear and firm.
3:Denmark, which has imposed a lockdown, is a fine example.
4:“Cancel Easter lunch,” its government told citizens in no uncertain terms. “Postpone family visits. Don’t go sightseeing around the country.”
5:As the Local, a Swedish news website, noticed, that injunction contrasts starkly with the language in Sweden, which (so far) has taken a much softer approach to containing the disease.
6:Its government said: “Ahead of the breaks and Easter, it is important to consider whether planned travel in Sweden is necessary.”
1:但良好的框架是不够的。
2:领导人还必须明确和坚定。
3:丹麦就是一个很好的例子,该国已经实施了隔离封锁。
4:“取消复活节午餐,”政府明确告知市民。“推迟拜访亲友。不要到全国各地去观光。”
5:正如瑞典新闻网站the Local所注意到的,这一禁令与瑞典的语言形成了鲜明的对比,瑞典(到目前为止)采取了温和得多的方式来遏制这种疾病。
6:瑞典政府表示:“在假期和复活节之前,考虑是否有必要计划在瑞典旅行是很重要的。”
(4). 1:The Danish instructions seem to be working; police report few violations of the rules.
2:As Orla Vigso, a Danish professor of language in Gothenburg, Sweden, says, the strictures are well-calibrated.
3:Danes consider themselves “the anarchists of the Nordic countries”.
4:To be made to comply they need to be told directly.
5:But there is a wider lesson.
6:Recommendations that sound more advisory than mandatory seem to presume rational adults will do the right thing with accurate information.
7:The central insight of behavioural economics is that they do not, at least not reliably.
1:丹麦的指示似乎起作用了;警方报告很少有违反规则的行为。
2:瑞典哥德堡的丹麦语言教授奥拉?维格索称,这些限制是经过精心校准的。
3:丹麦人认为自己是“北欧国家的无政府主义者”。
4:要使他们服从,就必须直接告诉他们。
5:但还有一个更广泛的教训。
6:那些听起来更像是建议而不是强制的建议,似乎是假定理性的成年人会用正确的信息做正确的事情。
7:行为经济学的核心观点是,它们不会,至少不可靠。
(5). 1:Rule number one in crisis communications, says Mr Vigso, is coherence.
2:Mixed messages allow people to follow their biases and believe whatever they want.
3:America is hobbled in two regards here.
4:Its federal structure means a president, 50 governors and countless mayors are saying different things.
5:And it has a president who said he wanted to see “packed” churches at Easter, then decided otherwise.
6:You’re much more likely to tell people what they want to hear if you can’t make up your own mind.
1:维格索表示,危机沟通的首要原则是连贯性。
2:混合信息让人们跟随自己的偏见,相信自己愿意相信的一切。
3:美国在这两个方面步履蹒跚。
4:美国的联邦结构意味着一位总统、50位州长和数不清的市长会说不同的话。
5:还有一位总统说他想在复活节看到“拥挤”的教堂,然后又决定不去了。
6:如果你不能自己做决定,你更有可能告诉别人他们想听的话。